In a new cover story for People magazine, Paula Deen says she is "fighting to get my name back" after controversial remarks she made shattered her $100 million empire last summer. However, some of her latest comments may plunge her ...

TV Guide

In a new cover story for People magazine, Paula Deen says she is "fighting to get my name back" after controversial remarks she made shattered her $100 million empire last summer. However, some of her latest comments may plunge her right back in hot water once again.

In the interview, the celebrity cook and restaurateur compared her recent struggles to those of college football player Michael Sam, who is the NFL's first openly gay prospect.

"I feel like 'embattled' or 'disgraced' will always follow my name. It's like that black football player who recently came out," Deen said, according to TheWrap.com. "He said, 'I just want to be known as a football player. I don't want to be known as a gay football player.' I know exactly what he's saying."

A timeline of Paula Deen's downfall

The interview is one of Deen's first since the dust settled from her downfall last summer. After Deen, 67, admitted in a deposition to using the N-word, the deposition was leaked to the press and Deen was let go by Food Network and dropped by several major companies, including Wal-Mart and QVC. "When I woke up each morning, it was like my world was crashing down again," Deen tells People of the ordeal.

Recently, however, Deen received a $75 million investment from a private equity firm for her new company, Paula Deen Ventures, which is said to be speaking with several TV networks, retail outlets and other possible partners.